Love is an Army
by Hikari-neko
Summary: Bakura writes a letter to Ryou before leaving for good. A songfic to LeAnn Rimes' Love is an Army. Bakura/Ryou angst, Yaoi
1. Love is an Army

Love is an Army

Author's note: And here we have another songfic from LeAnn Rimes' Twisted Angel CD.  Here's Bakura's letter to Ryou, done too Love is an Army by LeAnn Rimes.

Disclaimer:  I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I don't own the song.  I have a copy of the Twisted Angel CD, but the copy write belongs to someone else.  Got it?  Good. XD

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Bakura's POV:

*Fear is any army  
Fighting against me  
Fighting a lost cause  
If I could only change their uniform  
They'd be soldiers of love  
Marching on and on*

Two chess pieces, one ivory white, one ebony black.  Black like my heart, knocked askew like my soul.  You showed me this game long ago, before you knew what I was, before I began to destroy you, love you.

*Love is any army  
Waiting for me  
Waiting for this girl  
If I could only stretch my arms around you  
I'd suddenly see  
There ain't nothin' wrong with me  
Hear*

A simple game, a war between friends, that's what this game is, no matter what innocent term's you've told.  A war between friends, ha, isn't that how it is?  But not as you think, for the winner of this game has been determined.  It is the dark piece that has fallen, not the light.  That single carved figure of glistening pure white, pure like your soul, it's that piece that stands firm.

*Words fly out  
The roof of my mouth  
They found a flaw  
In my armor  
Heart so still  
Your beating will  
Heal the wars I remember,  
remember*

No, I am the one who has fallen, fallen to my own arrogance, my own deceit, my own hatred.  And it was you who suffered for it.  

It's hopeless now; this war can never be erased.  I can never change what I've done, and though your trusting soul may forgive me, I can never forgive myself.  If only I could tell you, if only I could turn back the gilded hands of cursed time and save you from your pain, save you from me.   

*Blue is the ocean  
Calling me in  
Calling me near  
If I could only learn  
To breathe down here  
I know I would be  
At home under the sea  
Yeah*

If only I could tell you the truth.  I don't hate you my innocent little light, I love more than love can express, more than I have the courage to say.  Yes, it's true, I know it now.  You were always the strong one, my hikari.  It was me, this foolish stealer of souls, who was the true failure.  

I remember a day, a few months ago.  You were walking along the beach, staring into the iridescent waves.  They were mesmerizing, the light glinting off blues and greens and grays.  I remember your eyes that day, so sad and full of longing.  I could have drowned in their chocolate depths.  They drew me in like an entrancing snare that had caught a buzzing fly.

*Words fly out  
The roof of my mouth  
They found a flaw  
In my armor  
Heart so still  
Your beating will  
Heal the wars I remember,  
remember*

If I could only tell you, my beautiful light.  I have never been emotional, nor gentle, nor kind.  It is not in my nature, I can't survive like that, like you.  Please believe I don't mean what I tell you, the jibes I throw.  Forgive… no, I can't ask that of you, my hikari, I don't deserve it.  

At one time I did hate you.  I loathed you, my innocent, naïve, gentle, weak hikari.  I hated you until I saw the strength of your soul.  A soul that endured no matter what pain I caused it.  And then I began to fear you, to loath you further.  I feared the strength in you, the strength I couldn't understand.  

*I'll bend my sword  
Against the world  
I'll push on through  
In spite of you*

I can't ask you to forgive me, I can't ask you to accept me, and I can't hope for you to love me, but please, my hikari, let me tell you the truth.  Let me resurrect this broken chess piece and start this game again.  

I can't ask you to forgive me, I can endure, I can survive.  But please believe, my hikari, I will always love you, and this, my last letter to you, is my only way to tell.  Goodbye, my light, and be well.  You were never weak, it was me all along.

~ Bakura.

*Love is an army  
Waiting for me  
Waiting for this girl*

I stood gripping the letter, my eyes closed tight.  My jacket hung on the chair beside me, ready for me to leave.  I sighed, fighting back a tear that had somehow worked it's way into my cruel eyes, and set the letter down on the kitchen counter, where I was sure Ryou would find it.  With one last glance back, I swung my jacket over my shoulder and walked out the door, into the gray cast sky.

"Good bye, my Ryou"

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Author's note: *sniff*  That was sad!!  Anyway, please read and review and tell me if you like it.  If enough people are interested, I am thinking about writing a sequel about when Ryou comes home and finds the letter, tell me if you want one ^_~

-Cat     


	2. Suddenly

Suddenly

Author's notes:  Well, you wanted a sequel so here it is, to the song Suddenly by LeAnn Rimes.  Ryou returns home and finds the letter.  How does he handle it?

Disclaimer: I don't own the song, nor Yu-Gi-Oh… sure wish I did though…

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Ryou's POV:

I came home that night as usual, carefully unlocking the door and stepping inside, hanging my coat on the old wooden hook beside the door.  How could I have known that you were gone for good?  I saw your jacket missing but thought nothing of it.  You were often gone when I arrived anyway.  

*It's Independence Day I'm free  
And it's a strange place to be  
I'm gonna break these chains  
Unleash the changes in me*  
  


I walked into the kitchen, setting my book-bag on the table.  It was then that I found your letter.  My hand flew to the ring, that solid piece of golden metal that had cursed, and blessed me with you these past years.  I silently called your name.  You didn't answer me, and then I knew… I was free.

*I see an endless road  
I feel the restless wind  
I've lost the fear inside  
Cause I've got no choice  
But to live or die*

At first I was elated, I admit.  I was free.  No longer your servant, your slave, I was my own person again.  That thought filled me with delight.  I lifted the cord of the ring to take it off and end this for good but then… I stopped.  I stopped as an ache began to fill my heart and consume me.  

*Suddenly you're in this fight alone  
Steppin' out into the great unknown  
And the night's the hardest time  
When the doubts run through your mind  
Cause suddenly you find your self alone  
Suddenly you find yourself*

With a sob I dropped to my knees, finally realizing what you had told me.  You loved me.  You love me.  And now you're gone.  They say you never know love until you have lost.  They were right, and now it's too late.  I can never tell you.  I love you, my dark angel, my other half.  I have loved you since the first time we met.  Through all the pain and suffering, you filled the void in my heart and completed my torn soul.

  
*In an empty room  
With a suitcase on the floor  
It'll be daylight soon  
I'm gonna wage my private  
war*

These past few days have been a blur to me.  I barely know what I'm doing.  My body moves mechanically through it's daily routine but my mind, my heart and my soul are elsewhere.

*Who's watchin' over me  
Must be a guardian angel  
I just need time to breathe  
And give my life  
The best of me*

The others have noticed, I can see the sympathetic looks they give me.  No doubt they think you're still hurting me.  In a way you are.  You're leaving me has hurt worse than anything you could have done to my body.  It has ripped at my soul.  If only I could find you, my dark one.  I want to find you and tell you…

*Suddenly you're in this fight alone  
Steppin' out into the great unknown  
And the night's the hardest time  
When the doubts run through your mind  
Cause suddenly you find your self alone  
Suddenly you find yourself*

Yesterday Yugi finally confronted me about my attitude.

"Ryou? Are you alright?" he asked me.  I forced a smile, even though my heart was crying.

"I'm fine Yugi," I answered him.  I know he didn't believe me.  None of them ever believed me when it came to you.  I prayed he would just drop it and leave me alone.  I probably hoped for too much.  He just stared back at me with those wide, innocent violet eyes.

*Suddenly you're in this fight  
Steppin' out and then*

"He's hurting you again isn't he."  I stopped dead at his words.  I know he took my actions the wrong way, but still, it wasn't far from the truth.  I shook my head in a vain attempt to reassure him.  I know he didn't believe me.  He just gave me that pitying look.  "You know Yami will help you.  You don't have to live like this.  Yami can free you," he told me.  I think my wry laugh surprised him.

*Suddenly you're in this fight alone  
Steppin' out into the great unknown  
And the night's the hardest time  
When the doubts run through your mind  
Cause suddenly you find your self alone  
Suddenly you find yourself*

"It's too late Yugi," I told him.  "I am free, and I hate it."  With that I left him staring at my slouched back.  I ran home as fast as I could, tears streaming down my face.  I didn't sleep that night, I spent the whole time crying, crying for you, for me... I just don't know anymore.    I know you would think me weak, that you would only scoff at my tears, but it hurts.  It hurts more than anything.

*Suddenly you're in this fight alone  
Steppin' out into the great unknown  
And the night's the hardest time  
When the doubts run through your mind  
Cause suddenly you find your self alone  
Suddenly you find yourself*

I found you knife that night.  You must have forgotten it when you left.  I admit I was surprised, since it was your favorite.  But in a way I was glad you had left it.  I clung to it while I cried.  It was the only thing, other than the ring that I had of you.  I know it's strange, crying while clinging to a knife, but I don't think I can take this anymore, my dark angel.  Please… come back to me.

~*~*~*~* Normal POV*~*~*~*~*~

Miles away, a dark figure felt a pull on his soul, tugging towards the place he had lived for so long.

"He's crying," the figure whispered, before vanishing into the night.

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Author's note:  *attempts to resist crying*  I still can't believe I'm writing this…  Well, I either leave it here or it'll have at least two more chapters.   It's up to you, I could leave this nice piece of angst as it is or I could continue and possible have a happy ending… review and tell me what you think ^_^

-Cat


	3. You Made Me Find Myself

You Made Me Find Myself

Author's notes:  Well I've finally gotten around to writing a third chapter.  Here's You Made Me Find Myself by LeAnn Rimes.  Malik has been looking after Ryou for the past few weeks.  How is Ryou handling Bakura's disappearance?

Disclaimer: I own neither the song, nor the series, so don't bother bugging me about it.

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Malik's POV:

Sometimes I hate this world.  It brings a bitter cold sensation, these memories.  Memories of darkness, of a pain I should never have allowed to control me.  I made a mistake then, when I created you from my pain and rage, you, my darker half, the one who almost destroyed me.  

Despite that I can't hate you.  I can't hate you, but I can never love you.  In your creation and the suffering you brought I found my dreams.  I know who I am now, I know what I want and I know what I care for.

*Bet you thought my world was over  
Bet you though I'd crash and burn  
You thought I'd never  
Pick myself up off the floor  
But baby you were wrong  
Just like before*

Once I did love you, my other half.  How could I not?  You freed me from my gilded cage.  I was a bird, locked away yet always seeing the world around me, wanting nothing more but to fly away.  You gave me my wings and opened my cage.  

I loved you then, yami, but now I see that you have caused more pain then I can forgive.  I didn't see what you were doing through me until he came into my life.  My best friend and now my guide, Ryou Bakura.  He had the light and the patience to show me the truth and now… now he's fading.

*I used to breathe you   
I used to need you  
I used to hang on every word  
that you say  
It used to please you  
To try to make me  
someone else  
And I thank you from  
My heart for your help  
Cause you made me find myself*

I found out from Yugi a week ago.  Funny, I've spent half of my young life trying to kill that boy and now I trust him with something so serious.  Bakura has left, and it's destroying him.  I can see him fading slowly.  There is nothing I can do but look out for him.  I don't think he's going to last much longer.  Does Bakura know what he has done?  I want to help Ryou, but what can I do?  How could I possibly find his dark angel?

I glance at the clock beside me and set down my pen.  It's almost seven o'clock, the time I go to check on Ryou.  I admit I'm more worried than usual today.  He missed school.  I stand and pull on my jacket and head for the door.  Within a few minutes I reach Ryou's house.  Having a motorcycle comes in handy for these situations.

*I used to think if I surrendered  
I'd be the perfect one for you  
But I swear I can't remember  
A single day of happiness with you*

There's a light on in Ryou's bedroom, but the rest of the house is dark.  There is no answer when I knock on the door so I let myself in.  Bakura had given me a key months ago, something I'm very grateful for now.  There is no sound in the house, only faint trickling from the bathroom upstairs.

I stop.  Something inside of me twists, clamping around my heart and sending it racing.  I race up the stairs, not understanding why such a feeling of dread grips my soul.  When I enter the bathroom, I understand.  

*I used to breathe you   
I used to need you  
I used to hang on every word  
that you say  
It used to please you  
To try to make me  
someone else  
And I thank you from  
My heart for your help  
Cause you made me find myself*

Ryou is lying unconscious in the bathtub, water tinted pink from the blood that seeps from his wrists.  I react immediately, pulling bandages from the medicine cabinet and lifting the boy from the still warm bloody water.  He's still breathing, barely, but I can feel his chest lift and fall with obvious effort.  I breathe a sigh of relief as I bandage his wrists and attempt to stop the bleeding.

*No I'm not going back in time  
And there's a price for being  
strong  
But I can live with who I am*  
  


I have to get him to the hospital.  Quickly I snatch a bathrobe from the hook on the door and wrap it around his unconscious, shivering form.  I lift him into my arms and hurry to my motorcycle.  

Later in the hospital they tell me he'll survive.  They say if I had been any later he wouldn't have made it.  I smile wryly.  It must have taken him all day to work up his courage, but I won't let him die. 

*I used to breathe you   
I used to need you  
I used to hang on every word  
that you say  
It used to please you  
To try to make me  
someone else  
And I thank you from  
My heart for your help  
Cause you made me find myself*

My mind shifts to the cause of this disaster.  My mind burns as I think of him, that sly thief.  Does he know what he has done?  A deep growl echoes from my throat.  Ryou has survived this brush with death, but how long until he tries again?  

I don't have time to waist.  Whether Bakura hates him or not, for Ryou's sake, I will drag him back here by force if I need too.  My hand fingers the Sennen Rod in my pocket.  I tell the nurse to look after Ryou, that I will be back in a few days.  Ryou helped me when I didn't have anywhere to go.  He is not going to die while I can still do something!

  
*You made me find my dreams  
You made me find my love  
You made me find myself  
Thank you, thank you*

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Author's note:  Well, there's chapter three ^_^  A little longer than the first two also.  Please review!


	4. No Way Out

No Way Out

Author's notes:  Now we're up to chapter four ^_^  I said this would probably only have about four chapters, but it's going to have to be longer.  I have two more coming after this one.  Now here's chapter four: No Way Out by LeAnn Rimes.  Malik finally finds Bakura.

Disclaimer: I don't own either one.

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Bakura's POV: 

Soft rain falls from the dim sky, trickling down my face, expressing the emotions I refuse too.  When did I fall so completely in love with you?  When did I get so addicted that I couldn't let you go?  I just can't stop.  You are all I think about, all I dream of, and all I wish for.  

*You've got me wrapped up in you   
Somehow you let me in   
Into your web of bittersweet, of ecstasy and sin   
Feel like an angel falling out from grace*

No matter how far I run I can see and hear you around every turn.  Everything I am pushes me back, screams at me to return to you.  But how can I?  No matter how much I love you it cannot erase what I have done.  I can't allow myself to be forgiven.

I hear an engine in the distance down the street but ignore it.  What do I care about the foolish mortal world around me?  Why can't I just left the rain drown me in it's silver tears?  I wish the Ring had never been found.  Nothing in existence could have prepared me for the soul gripping heartache this guilt has caused me.  Heh, who thought I could even feel guilt.

*I try to run, but I keep on falling   
And every time I turn around   
I hear your voice and it keeps on calling   
I'm bound, there's no way out   
No way out.....*

The engine comes closer, passing by with a sudden splash and a flash of light.  I don't look up, nor do I bother to wipe the muddy water from my face.  I just don't care anymore.  The only think I love, I can never have.  Why should I care for my miserable existence?

That damn engine is coming closer again.  Or is it a different one?  I don't know, nor do I care.  The sound slows and stops.  Why won't it just leave me alone?  A familiar voice stops me in my tracks.

*You wanted me to want you   
I couldn't help myself   
You became my addiction   
I won't need nothing else   
Feel like I'm trapped inside these walls   
Trying to find my way*

"Bakura?"  I freeze.  The rain trickles down my face and falls from my damp hair.  What is Malik doing this far from Domino?  His sister is going to kill him!  I don't reply, only stand there in the pouring rain with no expression to betray my thoughts.

"Bakura," he says again.  "He's dying."  That gets my attention.  There is no doubt of whom he speaks.  My head snaps up and my eyes are confronted by a pair of soul searching violet orbs.

*I try to run, but I keep on falling   
And every time I turn around   
I hear your voice and it keeps on calling   
I'm bound, there's no way out   
No way out.....*

"What?" my voice rasps.  My mind is spinning.  Dying?  Ryou?  My Ryou?  It can't be!  I left to end his pain!  Why is he still suffering?  Malik's eyes are like daggers slicking into my soul and tearing at my heart.  "What happened?" I ask him.

"You."  His voice is cold.  I almost expect the falling rain to freeze to ice under his gaze.  I am speechless.  Me?  It makes no sense!  I left to…

*It's like a dream, you can't wake up from.  
It's a hunger that can't be satisfied....*   
  
 And then it hits me.  Was it possible?  Do I even dare to hope?  "I don't care if you hate him, and I don't care if you refuse," Malik tells me.  "I'm bringing you back with me either willingly or by force."  He could have killed me then and there and I wouldn't have flinched.  

*No matter how I try there's no escape....*  
  


I raise my head, my eyes glinting with determination.  I have to stop running.  How can I call myself strong when I only hide from my fears?  I wanted to be strong enough for him, now this is my chance to prove it.  No matter how far I run he follows me.  I can't keep hiding.  Not anymore.  Not when I'm hurting him, the only thing I care  for in all of existence.  I meet Malik's eyes with my own, almost expecting him to strike me.

*I try to run, but I keep on falling   
And every time I turn around   
I hear your voice and it keeps on calling   
I'm bound, there's no way out   
No way out.....*  
  


"Alright," I tell him.  A small smirk lights his eyes from their near black-violet to their usual humor filled lavender.

"Good," he says, pulling his hand from his pocket.  The Sennen Rod rests in his fingers; it's powers ready to be drawn upon.  "I didn't want to use this."  I nod to him.  I won't run, not anymore.  There is no way out, and it is my turn to face my fears.

*I try to run, but I keep on falling   
And every time I turn around   
I hear your voice and it keeps on calling   
I'm bound, there's no way out   
No way out.....*   
  


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Author's note:  Yay, Bakura's coming back ^_^  This is for all of you who wanted a happy ending, but don't worry, it doesn't end there!  Two more to go ^_~  And a big thanks to all who have reviewed!  I wouldn't have had the encouragement to go on without you!

-Cat 


	5. Twisted Angel

Twisted Angel

Author's notes:  And here's chapter five, Twisted Angel, another song by LeAnn Rimes.  Ryou wanders in his own mind while Bakura returns to Domino to find his hikari in the hospital.

Disclaimer: Own them?  Yeah, I wish… 

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Ryou's POV

My mind floats in an endless sea of shadows.  Endless whirling cascades of blacks and grays.  My body feels heavy, dead, immobile.  They've sedated me.  Why they even bothered I don't know. 

*Ever since I was a little child  
I was told to do no wrong  
The angel in my mama's precious eyes  
Could be a devil with a heart of stone*

Why do they even want to save me?  Why do they care?  I have no will to live, no wish, no hope.  My only reason for life is gone, gone like the summer wind.  My dark angel, tell me this is a dream, that I'll wake to find you here with me, no matter how cruel your heart is.

*I couldn't help myself,  
just had to go my way  
Now I've got hell to pay*  
  


I chuckle in my mind.  What a laugh.  This is no dream, this pain of mine.  My pain is the only reality left to me.  Hope and happiness don't exist for people like me.  

Why did Malik have to rescue me?  They told me of course, when I woke up.  They had stitched my wrists and bound them, telling me I was lucky to be alive.  Lucky, ha.  They noticed immediately when I stopped eating.  It wasn't long before they had hooked me to iv's.

*Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying wild and free  
Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying to heaven on a  broken wing*  
  


There was nothing I could do to convince them to leave me, to let me die.  I tried, they can't deny that.  The scars crossing my veins from their needles will take years to fade.  Finally they decided to drug me.  After all there is no other way to save one who wishes to die.  I want to die.  I pray for it, hope for it, wish for it.  I have no hope for his return, and without him, I have no will to live.

And so I lie here, trapped in my own mind by the artificial drugs injected into my still body.  I wait and watch and dream, always dream, for the time I will be released.

*Back when I was daddy's little girl  
He brought me up on the Rolling Stones  
Thrown into the flame, thrown into the world  
That's when I learned how to rock n'roll*

Bakura's POV

When Malik led me into the hospital I had expected to see my angel asleep in his quiet, gentle way.  Just breathing slowly in and out with his beautiful silvery hair fluttering in the breeze from his breath.  I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me.

*Look's like everything  
has gone my way  
But I've still got hell to raise* 

My hikari lay still upon the white sheeted bed, pale and thin as ever.  His wrists were wrapped in bandages and restrained while a thin clear tube ran from his arm to a bag of clear fluid hanging above the bed.  

I was at a loss for words.  Malik quickly spoke to the nurse, asking her what had happened.  He had starved himself, they said.  Deliberately refusing to eat, and then ripping the iv's from his own skin.  

*Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying wild and free  
Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying to heaven on a  broken wing*

I couldn't believe it.  My thoughts were a whirl of emotions.  Why?  Why Ryou?  Why my gentle, innocent hikari?  What had I done?  What had I done to destroy my light's will to live?  Was this the result of my fear?  Malik rested a hand on my shoulder, a cold dull light in his eyes.

*My mama taught me right  
But the devil's up my sleeve  
It's made me kind of crazy  
But it's all right with me*

"Bakura," he whispered.  "Ryou will be awake in an hour.  Stay with him.  I have to get home."  I nodded to him solemnly, still unable to speak.  He smiled sadly and left, glancing back only once as he walked through the door.

*Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying wild and free  
Yeah I'm a twisted angel  
Flying to heaven on a  broken wing*

Now I sit here in a stiff chair beside my hikari's bed.  It has been near an hour, near the time they said he would wake.  My eyes flicker to the clock on the wall.  Can I do this?  I watch my angel's face, carefully taking in every soft, beautiful detail. I will do this.  I won't let him die.  It's time my angel's suffering was put to an end.  And before my eyes, my angel's eyelids begin to flicker.    

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's notes: And there's chapter 5 ^_^  I know the song doesn't fit as well as the others… but I was kinda running out of options -.-;  I hope you enjoyed!  One more to go!

-Cat


	6. The Safest Place

The Safest Place

Author's notes:  And now we've come down to the final chapter of Love is an Army, done to the song The Safest Place by LeAnn Rimes.  I hope you enjoy *takes a bow*

Disclaimer: Honestly, if I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, half the characters would be snogging in a back room… but, I can dream.  I don't own the song either… damn.

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Ryou's POV

*Thank God that you were by my side…*

A soft comforting dark presence surrounds me, sheltering me from the colder shadows beyond.  It feels familiar, but some how different.  It feels… safe.  Like a comfort I haven't felt since…  

*On a night....  
On a night...*

I begin to shake, fear flooding my dulled senses.  Do these demons give me this tiny piece of hope just to torment me further?  The drugs they have given me are beginning to wear off and I can feel my body waking.

*Daytime I'm fine  
Everything is back normal  
Last night I thought that I would die  
I had nightmares, I was so scared  
Thank god that you were by my side  
To hold me when I cried*

No!  my mind screams in anguish.  Why won't you just let me sleep!  Just let me live with this hope!  This hope that I know will vanish like a dream the moment I open my eyes.  Don't let me wake up!  Let me stay here in the illusionary presence of my dark angel.  Just leave me to my delusions.  Don't make me face this truth.

*I wanna be strong  
But I dont' wanna be alone tonight  
I wanna believe that I can save the world  
And make it right  
But I believe that you've got a hero's face  
Right here in your arms is safest place  
The safest place*

I know my spirit will break.  My heart has already shattered into uncountable pieces that can never be mended, please!  Don't break my soul as well!  My eyes flicker open as I resign myself to this death.  Not just the death of my body, but of my very soul.

*It feels so real  
You showed I could trust you  
With emotions I had locked away  
It was your touch, your words  
They hear deepest part of me  
That only you can see*

Ryou? I freeze, clenching my eyes closed tightly.  Please don't torment me further!  If you won't let me die please don't torture me with this soul scaring pain!  I plead to the heavens above to save me.  Instead a gentle, calloused hand brushes a lock of hair from my face.  Ryou, tenshi… So soft, so gentle… please, don't let this be a dream….

My eyes blink open slowly.  I look up to find myself facing a pair of deep russet eyes.  Brown, so like my own, but so different.  Harsher, sharper, and yet carrying a gentleness I had never seen.

"Ba-" I suddenly find myself swept into a tight hug.

*I wanna be strong  
But I don't wanna be alone tonight  
I wanna believe that I can save the world  
And make it right  
But I believe that you've got a hero's face  
Right here in your arms is safest place*

Ryou… tenshi… you're alright?  He's almost crying now.  I reach my hand up to touch his face.  He takes his own calloused palm, pressing mine to his cheek.  I smile softly, taking in every precious, precious detail of his face.

Please… tell me this isn't a dream, I whisper in his mind.  He leans down, pressing his soft lips to mine in a chaste kiss, a kiss I will treasure for eternity.

*As long as I'm with you  
As long as I can feel you  
That's all I need to keep me going  
On and on and on and on....*

In a way, I wish it was, he replies, brushing over my bandaged wrists which he had unbound while I slept.  I never meant to hurt you like this tenshi.  I won't ask you to forgive me, just let me stay.

*I wanna believe that I can save the world  
And make it right  
But I believe that you've got a hero's face  
Right here in your arms is safest place*

I never blamed you.  He breaks down crying, tears I would never have expected from someone like him rolling down his face.  I wrap my thin pale arms around him, rocking him gently as a mother rocks her child.

Bakura? I ask him.  He presses further into my embrace.

*Right here in your arms is safest place....*

Yes tenshi?

Promise me… promise you'll never leave me again.  He smiles, his sobs quieting to soft gasps before vanishing into nothing.

*The safest place...*

Not for all the world tenshi.  And deep inside my soul, a light begins to burn anew.

*The safest place...*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's notes:  Well, I hope you've enjoyed this little fic.  *takes another bow*  Sayonara, for now, and thank you!

-Cat


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